Government

The Toronto City Hall viewed from Nathan Phillips Square.

The Ontario Legislative Building is the standing symbol of Toronto being the seat of government in Ontario.

Toronto is a single-tier municipality governed by a mayor-council system. The Toronto City Council is a unicameral body, comprised of a mayor elected by direct popular vote and 44 councillors representing geographical wards throughout the city. All members of the city council, including the mayor, serve three-year terms without term limits. (After the 2006 municipal election, members of the council will serve four-year terms.)

The city council is divided into six standing committees with between 9 and 12 members: policy and finance, administration, works, economic development and parks, community services, and planning and transportation. Additionally, the city has four community councils that make recommendations on local matters to the city council, but possess no final authority. Each city councillor serves as a member on a community council.

Toronto has an operating budget of C$7.1 billion. The city receives funding from the Government of Ontario in addition to tax revenues, including $2.5 billion dollars for mandated purposes, $2.0 billion for special-purpose bodies such as the Toronto Public Library and Toronto Zoo, $1.7 billion of directly-controlled funds, and $900 million for capital financing and non-programs.

Torontonians are represented at the federal and provincial governments by 22 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons and another 22 Members of Provincial Parliament in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Economy

Royal Bank Plaza is the corporate headquarters of the Royal Bank of Canada.

Toronto is a major international centre for business and finance. Generally considered the financial capital of Canada, Toronto has a high concentration of banks and brokerage firms on Bay Street, the country's equivalent to Wall Street in New York. The Toronto Stock Exchange is the world's sixth-largest stock exchange by market capitalization. All of the Big Five banks of Canada are headquartered in Toronto.

Toronto has a gross domestic product of US$225 billion. The gross metropolitan product of its metropolitan area is about US$305 billion, seventh-largest in the world after New York City, London, Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles and Chicago.

The city is a national centre for the media, publishing, telecomunications and information technology industries; it is home to Thomson Corporation, Bell Globemedia, Rogers Communications and Celestica. Other prominent Canadian corporations in Toronto include Four Seasons Hotels, the Hudson's Bay Company and Manulife Financial. Most multinational companies also establish their Canadian head offices in Toronto.

Although much of the region's manufacturing activities take place outside the city limits, Toronto continues to be an important wholesale and distribution point for the industrial sector. The city's strategic position along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor and its extensive road and rail connections help support the nearby production of motor vehicles, iron, steel, food, machinery, chemicals and paper. The completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959 gave ships access to the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean.